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21 Feb 2010 20:58

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Politics: “A narrative of impending tyranny” our new favorite phrase

  • In a word, the Times editors and Barstow know this narrative is nuts, but something stops them from saying so — despite the fact that they must have spent over $100,000 on this one story.
  • Our boy Jay Rosen • Regarding a recent New York Times article about the Tea Party movement which seemed to accept a seemingly wrong-on-its-face statement about our country – “a narrative of impending tyranny” – as fact. This phrase floored Rosen enough that he wrote a huge blog post about it. The point that he’s getting at, and that we completely agree with, is that the need for objectivity doesn’t mean you can’t consider or critique what’s being said. Being impartial is one thing; being oblivious, or repeating what’s being said without qualification is another altogether. We owe readers more than that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Feb 2010 12:50

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Politics: “Tamed, not eradicated”: Is Keith Obermann right on racism?

  • “Where are they? Where … are they?” Keith Olbermann’s recent statement on racism in the Tea Party movement strikes us as a little true, a little untrue, a little harsh, and a good bit needed. (The context which he brings to his criticism, going from Don Imus to John Mayer, helps his point some.) Now, there are black tea party members (who apparently stick out like sore thumbs if the photo we used with that article says anything), but the overarching point that he’s getting at is one much-better-explained than his MSNBC counterpart Chris Matthews – race is a complex thing in this country and the relative uniformity of the Tea Party movement is an example of how far we still need to go. Is he wrong? Are we? Let us know.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2010 10:39

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Politics: Karl Rove to Tea Parties: Don’t merge with the GOP, guys

  • My advice to them is to keep their distance from any single party and instead influence both parties on debt, spending and an over-reaching federal government.
  • Former Bush strategist Karl Rove • On what he thinks the Tea Party movement should do to grow in influence. There had been talk of directly aligning with the Repulbican party, though some sects of the movement disagreed. But he points out that, to gain mainstream influence, “they must now begin the difficult task of disassociating themselves from cranks and conspiracy nuts.” That oughta be fun. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2010 21:27

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Politics: Sarah Palin and her “little twittering thing”: She sounds stupid again!

  • Just you watch now, too, because somebody will be here with their little Twittering thing, and it’s going to be on the Internet any minute now.
  • Sarah Palin • Speaking at a Republican Party function yesterday. The former presidential candidate, who regularly takes to Facebook to complain about some stupid crap, is now a Twitter trending topic as a result of this. Will this be enough to ruin her career and presidential hopes? God, we hope so. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2010 21:18

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Politics: Glenn Beck uncovers a 9/11 “truther” in a Tea Party candidate. WTF?

  • I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard. There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that.
  • Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina • Answering a point-blank question from Glenn Beck: “Do you believe the government was in any way involved in the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?” This is a Tea Party candidate. Who was doing well in the polls until now. Saying something stupid. To. Glenn. Beck. Ahahahahahahahaha … ahahahaha … and we thought Harold Ford, Jr. had the market on saying stupid stuff all locked up. We don’t say this often, but good job Glenn Beck! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 19:40

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Politics: No, really? Sarah Palin’s thinking of running for president in 2012

  • I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country. … I won’t close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future.
  • Sarah Palin • Speaking on “Fox News Sunday” about her chances of running for president in a couple of years. Wonder what might have suggested that – the dropping out of the Alaska governor position, the commentator position on Fox News, the presidential-sounding speech she made just last night at the Tea Party convention? We just didn’t see it coming. We must be dense. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 13:06

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Politics: The final word on the whole Sarah Palin Tea Party thing

  • I know many of you think I am over-estimating her and under-estimating the common sense of the American people. I hope to God you’re right.
  • Super-blogger Andrew Sullivan • Regarding the Tea Party convention. For some reason, Sullivan thought it was a great idea to live-blog her performance last night. Don’t get him wrong; he doesn’t like Palin, either, but he realizes her importance. Begrudgingly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

07 Feb 2010 09:58

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Politics: Did Sarah Palin hijack the entire Tea Party movement? Maybe

  • Palin, while explicitly saying the movement had no leader, implicitly offered herself up as one. After this speech, which was widely covered on the internet and carried on television, the tea party movement and Sarah Palin will be inextricably intertwined.
  • Nashville Post conservative critic A.C. Kleinheider • Regarding this weekend’s Tea Party convention, which he says hurt the movement by giving it a de facto leader in the form of Sarah Palin. He was particularly annoyed that her speech invoked Ronald Reagan, who, among other things, was a huge spender while in office. It kinda goes against the message the Tea Party is trying for, he argues. Ultimately, that’s probably what’s going to happen to the movement – people who don’t understand that it’s against big government are going to try to co-opt it as a movement for Republican ideals. While we’re not exactly in favor of what the Tea Party is pitching, we definitely think there’s a lot of missing-the-point going on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 09:45

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Politics: This is what a black tea party member looks like, Chris Matthews

The guy in this photo? Antonio Hinton of the Knoxville Tea Party, who’s protesting the convention. Instapundit’s coverage of the convention is pretty strong, BTW. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2010 23:23

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Politics: Sarah Palin’s Tea Party speech is a freaking nightmare

  • Sarah Palin’s speech at the Tea Party Convention got these points across in its first minute and a half: 1.) Thanks to all our servicemen. 2.) Happy birthday Ronald Reagan!  3.) Hi to everyone watching on C-SPAN, which is airing this even when they don’t air the health care debate. 4.) References to barbecue and sweet tea (as well as an awful “Alaska is cold” iced-tea joke). It’s not as bad as her resignation speech, but we just had to stop watching at some point. Her voice makes our brain hurt.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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